‘France will vote against the reauthorisation of glyphosate’

France is set to vote against renewing the European licence for weedkiller glyphosate, according to recent reports from Reuters.

An official at France’s environment ministry reportedly confirmed to Reuters that the country will vote against the reauthorisation of glyphosate.

This stance could have the potential to add to the uncertainty over the future of commonly-used products, like Monsanto’s Roundup in the EU.

It is believed that France has taken this position as a result of concerns over glyphosate’s risk to human health – which has led to significant investigative reports across the world.

“France will vote against the reauthorisation of glyphosate due to the doubts that remain about its dangerousness,” a ministry official allegedly told Reuters.

A vote on whether to renew the license is due on October 4, the French official reportedly added.

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French farmers would be strongly opposed to the country voting against the reauthorisation of the herbicide, according to a statement from the domestic farm group, FNSEA.

“The reality is that as long as alternative solutions are not available, the removal of glyphosate would sweep away the long-standing efforts of farmers, their research and development tools, and a whole range of ecological transition that society calls for,” a statement from the FNSEA read.

In June of last year, the European Commission decided to extend the current market authorisation of glyphosate by 18 months.

Meanwhile, earlier this year the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) maintained that the weed killer glyphosate will not be classified as a carcinogenic.

But the ECHA’s Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) agreed to maintain the harmonised classification of glyphosate as a substance causing serious eye damage and being toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects.

The RAC concluded that the available scientific evidence did not meet the criteria to classify the weedkiller as a carcinogen, as a mutagen or as toxic for reproduction.